A Report Found That Reports of Sexual Assault Increased at Army and Naval Academies

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 10: Cadets from the U.S. Naval Academy line up on field prior to the game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Nights at M&T Bank Stadium on December 10, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. President-Eelect Donald Trump is expected to attend the game. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)Aaron P. Bernstein

According to AP, the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland and the U.S. Military Academy in New York saw an increase in the number of sexual assault reports from student on their campuses; military academy officials believe the development is positive because it means more students feel more supported by institutions should they choose to seek help. In contrast, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado saw a decline in the number of reported cases, going from 49 in 2015 to 32 in 2016, according to AP, though no specific reason has been given as to why.

However, an anonymous survey sent to cadets at these academies showed an increase of sexual misconduct across the board at all three institutions. According to AP, 12% of women and 2% of men said they dealt with sexual misconduct in 2016, up from 8% and 1% in 2015, respectively. The largest increases in sexual misconduct were also at the naval and army academies, AP reported. Many respondents said they didn't report the misconduct because they "didn't consider it serious enough" and instead chose to avoid the perpetrator.

While military officials said the issue was partly due to the constantly changing student body, they also argued that change has to come from the students themselves, not just officials. "Unless the students have a bit of accountability on their own, unless they take the charge themselves, [senior] leadership can really only take them so far," Elizabeth Van Winkle, the assistant defense secretary for readiness, told AP. "If the students aren't taking the charge themselves, you won't make as much headway in this population." Leaders said they're trying to figure out ways to better train students to intervene in situations that could lead to misconduct or assault, and Nate Galbreath, the deputy director of the Pentagon's sexual assault prevention office, explained to AP that he's searching for the "holy grail of prevention."

Sexual misconduct at the academies isn't the only problem facing branches of the military. Just this month, the Center for Investigative Reporting published a report that Marines were sharing nude photos of female service members in a Facebook group with thousands of people. A 2014 report from the Department of Defense also found that 22% of women and 7% of men in the military dealt with sexual harassment, and the report estimated that roughly 20,300 active services members had been sexually assaulted the year before.